A 6-alarm fire that burned for more than 12 hours Sunday and Monday at the JBS beef processing plant in Grand Island, one of the largest beef plants in the country, appears to have spared the main production area.
Grand Island Fire Dept Battalion Chief Scott Kuehl says there were no injuries and that the cause of the fire remains undetermined.
Chief Kuehl says crews called to the plant just before 10:00 Sunday night found flames in the rendering area. Firefighters didn’t leave until Monday afternoon because the blaze spread into hard-to-reach concealed spots in the ceiling and walls.
The Grand Island plant slaughters about 6,000 cattle a day, so industry observers were afraid the fire would have a big impact on markets and prices, just like a 2019 fire at a large Tyson beef plant in Kansas
JBS spokeswoman Nikki Richardson says because the fire did not reach the main production area, the company expects to see relatively little impact and plans to resume operations on Tuesday.